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15 October 2024

H C SLINGSBY PLC

("Slingsby", "the Group" or the "Company")

Trading Update

HC Slingsby PLC, one of the market leaders in the distribution of industrial and commercial equipment, issues the following trading update in respect of the nine months ended 30 September 2024.

In the Chairman's Statement accompanying the Report for the half year ended 30 June 2024, it was reported that Group sales were 6 per cent. lower in the six months to 30 June 2024 compared with the corresponding period in 2023.  This decline in sales and the costs associated with the retirement of a director of £0.2m together with interest costs of £0.14m relating to the Company's defined benefit pension scheme, led to an unaudited loss before tax of £0.25m compared with an unaudited profit before tax of £0.13m in the same period in the prior year.

Group sales in the nine months to 30 September 2024 were 8 per cent. lower when compared to the same period in the prior financial year.  Group sales in Q3 2024 were down 11 per cent. on that achieved in Q3 2023.  The directors consider that the lower level of sales is due to customers reducing or deferring spending following cost increases caused by factors such as the increase in the minimum wage, lower sales of seasonal products and uncertainty around the impact of future tax and regulatory changes.

The reduction in sales and increases in overhead costs have resulted in an unaudited loss before tax for the nine months to the end of September 2024 of £0.53m (after the costs associated with the retirement of a director of £0.2m and interest costs of £0.20m relating to the Company's defined benefit pension scheme).  The unaudited profit before tax for the nine months to 30 September 2023 was £0.27m.

The market remains competitive and the Group remains cautious regarding the outlook for the remainder of the financial year. This is particularly the case given the recent lower level of sales and volatility in order intake which makes demand going forward difficult to forecast. The directors will keep the Group's cost base under review as appropriate. 

Cash Position

The Group had unaudited net debt of approximately £0.36 million as at 30 September 2024 compared to net debt of approximately £0.08 million as at 30 June 2024 and net cash of £0.21 million as at 31 December 2023. The Group's banking facilities remain in place and the Group continues to make payments to the defined benefit pension scheme in accordance with the agreement reached with the scheme's trustee in March 2024.

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